The Powers That Be
by CountSheep
Summary: Sanford and Deimos are a Dynamic duo. Nothing goes together better. But Sanford is told, by the Higher Powers, they may have to split up.
1. Chapter 1

"The Powers That Be"

"Hank?"

"Hm?"

"Um…before I came around, you and Sanford…were 'partners', right."

Hank watched as Deimos tried, and miserably failed, to feign non-challance. But the kid _was _trying. Very hard.

"That all depends on what you mean by 'partners."

The young technician shifted uneasily as he sat on the hood of the car. It was a long shot to ask Hank for this kind of advice. He may have known Sanford the longest, but Deimos had a feeling he himself knew him the best. He knew when something bothered him. And lately, something was definitely bothering the ComSpec (combat specialist).

Why else would he have dragged Deimos with him to the Organizations facility the moment he stepped off the plane from a mission? Was he just tired from back to back missions? Or was he, once again, arguing with the Higher Powers over something to do with the improbability drive missions? Whatever the problem, it was certainly leaving him in an irritable mood. One that seemed just a tad bit snappish after a nice night in bed with Deimos. The worry over his partner had driven him to almost 3 packs of smokes a week. Unfiltered.

The young techie was more concerned with the last bit. Normally his partner would simply fall asleep next to him and be gone on another mission the next morning. Not that there was no romance. But it never really came into play when they were both so busy.

"I mean 'partners' as in…well …ya know."

The younger mans' face turned a dark shade of red. It felt so weird to talk about these things to other people. Hank had to suppress a laugh. He knew what the young man wanted to know. Anyone with a slightly warped/dirty mind could see it. What an open book Deimos could be.

"Look, if you want to know if we ever slept with each other, the answer is yes."

_Night and day_. He thought to himself. Deimos once again shifted. Hank found himself going through each time in his head. _In the shower, on a counter top, against a wall, back alley of a bar, bed, couch, floor...wait, does getting and giving head count? Yeah, why not. public bathroom. _

"R-right…"

_Aw crap now he's pouting. _Hank was glad he had been wise enough not to say any of his thoughts out loud. Deimos pulled the bill of his visor down to hide his embarrassment.

"What you guys having trouble in bed or something?"

Deimos' jaw dropped at how completely blunt Hank had been.

"N-no! I mean well…the only time we ever 'had trouble' was in the backseat of the car…but not because…it was because we're both kinda tall and…well…"

Hank was dumbfounded at Deimos and what he had just blurted out, considering the kid had always been well, shy about his and Sanford's relationship.

"Huh. Really Now?"

"What? Something wrong with the backseat of a car?"

"No, no. Unless that was your first time."

The techie's face lit up lit up red like a fricken stoplight. The conversation had rapidly become awkward. But watching the kid blush and squirm was just too entertaining. No wonder Sanford had warmed up to the new guy so quickly.

"Um…moving on."

Aw…there first time must have been real special to get that sort of reaction. Well, special or scary. Now Hank was really curious. But for now he wouldn't prod at sensitive things.

"Alright, so what's the problem? Running out of ideas to spice up sex? He likes to bite. You could try returning the favor."

Deimos' subconsciously moved his hand to the nape of his neck.

"It's not that…besides…I already know that."

"Then what's the problem?"

Deimos hesitated. He dug around in his jacket pocket, pulling out a pack of unfiltered cigarettes. He slipped one into his mouth and lit it up with his lucky lighter.

He took a long drag before offering one to Hank. The older man took one, removed the black balaclava that covered his face, and leaned over to let Deimos light it for him.

Deimos watched as he inhaled, staring at the deformed lower jaw. The scarred, ripped, and torn skin that was now only held together by a few flexible metal wires. Hank could see the discomfort settling over the technicians face. He opened his mouth and let the smoke creep out on its accord, some of the smog seeping from the gaping holes in his cheeks.

"I would be totally freaked out if that wasn't the coolest shit I'd ever seen."

Hank smirked.

"I know. Hot, ain't it?"

The last of the smoke was forced out as he spoke.

Deimos laughed and reclined himself until he was lying, back against the windshield. After a few more drags he seemed to find his words again.

"It isn't during sex…it's after. He always seems…I dunno…annoyed."

The older man turned to see him flick a bit of ash off to the side of the car they sat on. The answer hit him like a brick to the head.

"Do you smoke after sex?"

"Yeah…"

Ding ding ding. There it was. Hank had many times listened to Sanford's rants at his partner's unhealthy habit. Hell. Hank could even recall a time when he himself had lit up after 3 or 4 rounds of rough sex, only to have the cigarette yanked from his lips and snuffed out. He was then pulled into a tight embrace by the larger man. He had just skipped feeling angry and fell asleep with the man holding him. Before that night he had never pegged the man as a cuddler. He took in and released another drag.

"Okay, the next time you guys go knockin' boots, don't reach for the smokes. Just scoot in closer and let him hold you real tight."

Deimos shot upright, his jaw dropped in disbelief.

"Are you fucking kidding me?!?!"

Hank shrugged, trying to keep a straight face at Deimos' outburst.

"But…c'mon. That's it? But Sanford is-"

"Right behind you. And looking rather miffed."

Deimos' gaze followed Hanks pointed finger to find that, indeed, his 'partner' was standing right behind him. A rather put off expression on his face.

"Care to enlighten me as to what I am?"

The comspec's voice was the same harsh tone that the two sitting on the car had guessed he was born with. However it now held a slight rasp. As if he had been yelling.

"Do something before he gets too impatient." Hank whispered teasingly into Deimos' ear.

Apparently Deimos hadn't caught the mocking tone because he stood, using the front bumper of the car as a sort of stepping stool, and threw his arms around Sanford's broad shoulders, pressing a loving kiss to his lips. Sanford may not have known what was going on, but he knew that when Deimos and Hank got together the always had some sort of trouble to dodge. And this was how Deimos knew trouble could be avoided. And, much to Sanford's annoyance, it always seemed to work.

Deimos pulled away first, wearing a huge grin and blush. Whatever they had been talking about had the young man flustered. It was fucking adorable. Sanford wrapped his arms around Deimos' lower back and pulled him up off of the car, lowering him so that he could press back into the kiss.

"Awesome! I always wanted to be invisible."

The two broke the kiss again to see Hank waving sarcastically at them. He slid from his seat and snuffed his cigarette out on the sole of his boot. He turned with huff and began his trek through the parking lot to his own car. But not before turning back around and shouting:

"Deimos, don't worry. Just follow that advice and you'll be fine. Promise."

With that he was gone. Leaving Sanford and Deimos alone. One looking quite embarrassed, the other quite confused.

"What advice-"

His attention was lost in yet another kiss from his young partner.

"D-don't worry about it. I missed you. Hell, you barely said anything since you got off the flight. What's wrong?"

Sanford set him down on his feet. Giving his messy hair a tousle. He smiled gently. But Deimos could see that somewhere in the back of his mind, he was troubled.

Well, this one turned out a lot fluffier than it was in the manuscript.

But hey. What's a good slash without fluff fics. Don't worry there will be violence and gore and comedy later on. Reviews are Love!


	2. Chapter 2

The drive had been silent. Once Hank had parted with the duo, Sanford and Deimos were already on their way back to the organizations' agent housing complex. Sanford was uncomfortably silent. Normally he would at least answer Deimos' questions about his missions. But now? What was wrong?

"Hey, Faggot!"

Sanford flicked a glance over towards his younger partner. He eased the car into the parking space in front of their apartment block and gave a smirk.

"Pot and kettle, Faggot"

The technician shot back a small smile. At least he was talking now.

"What's wrong with you, dude? You're acting like someone gave you a prostate exam 10 years too early."

The older man slammed his head into the top of the steering wheel, giving a chuckle at his partner's way with words. But there was something about the way it sounded. Tired and…what? Hesitant?

There was another pause. Sanford took in a deep breath and let it out slowly, crossing his arms atop the steering wheel. His eyes were red, dark circles underneath. Deimos began to realize just how exhausted his partner was.

"I had to have a talk with the 'higher powers'. It was…fuck…" he put a hand to his temple, as if trying to work out an ache. Something was definitely wrong. Why was Sanford talking to the higher powers? In person? What about? So many questions. But the techie remained silent. Waiting for the answer.

The older man let out another sigh and straightened himself in his seat. He looked around as if he was trying to find something to give him the 'go-ahead' to answer. But merely shook his head and gave him a tired, half hearted smile.

"You know what? Don't worry about it. It's nothing."

Deimos huffed and waited for Sanford to get out of the car and reach the front door before leaning out of his own door and yelling:

"AND YOU SAY **I'M** THE COCK TEASE!"

There was a small metallic snapping sound. Sanford turned and held up the ring end of their now broken door key. His face was completely blank, but Deimos could see the inklings of embarrassment and shame in his dark eyes.

"Aw…don't make that face. Just tell me what happened and I won't have to embarrass you like that."

"GODAMMIT! I said don't worry about it!"

There was the sound of a few nosy neighbors opening their front doors. Who could blame them? No one, other than Deimos and Hank, had ever heard Sanford raise his voice. Normally he would seethe. A bit too passive aggressive for his own good (or anyone else's for that matter).  
The older man turned and took in a deep breath before turning back around.

"Look…j-just go get us a new key while I get the damn door open."

Deimos slid out of the car and complied with his partners order. No sense in getting him any angrier than he already was. But still, he had never taken such a harsh tone outside of work. What had him so uptight and irritable?

Deimos was too deep in thought to keep an eye on where his feet were taking him. But a nice trip over a parking block and a hard, face first fall into the curb brought him out of it.

"Mother fucker…" he put a hand to his nose. It wasn't broken but blood was flowing from it and what must have been a busted lip. Great, just, fucking great. Sanford was being a douche, and he had no clue why. And now he busted up his face tripping over his own damn feet. What next?

"Hey, Faggot."

_Ah crap…_there was a familiar yet unwelcome voice at his back. He turned to see the cloned face of a common grunt. And where there was one, there were at least 5 or 6 more to deal with. And as if summoned by mere thought, several duplicates seemed to materialize behind the first one.

"Fuck off; I'm not in the mood."

It was funny how just the thought of a good fight could get Deimos out of his slumps. Get him back at the top of his game.

The face the first grunt dropped from the generic blank expression to one of annoyance.

"Aw…what's wrong? You and your butt buddy get in a lovers quarrel?"

Deimos straightened himself so that he was in a casual lean against the apartment mailbox. He gave a small chuckle.

"Please…San's got a wife and 2 kids, and I don't swing that way. But thanks for the concern, it's touching."

Hey it wasn't a complete lie. Sanford might have had a family, but he couldn't go back to that even if he wanted to.

The grunts all shifted, making a wall around the first and Deimos. Since when the hell did grunts ever have any sort of order. It seemed like this first grunt had some sort of rank over the others. That wasn't a comforting notion.

But then the first grunt reached into his pocket and fished around for a moment before pulling out a pair of black sunglasses, placing them on his face. The entire group followed suit. Before Deimos now stood a good dozen l337 agents.

"Ah…Fuck my life…"

"We're a little more concerned about how your partner is going to react when he finds you face down in a gutter."

TBC

Well this is the second part of the series. The next part should have some violence and gore in it.

Can Deimos handle this by himself unarmed?

Will Sanford come to the rescue?

Find out next time on "The Powers That Be"

REVIEWS ARE APPRECIATED.


	3. Chapter 3

What was it about the world that made it okay to just keep throwing shit someone's way. Deimos was never one to really complain. But really, fighting with Sanford and then having to fight twelve l337 agents. What the hell? It wasn't even really a fight. The agents just jumped. Deimos had nothing. Not even a knife. Even a fucking pen would have sufficed. But no, he was forced to let each agent have its turn beating him.

Stomping his ribs. Pounding his face in. What next?

The lead agent was standing over him, a sinister grin plastered across his face. He reached down and grabbed the blood soaked front of Deimos' shirt and dragged him back to the curb. What else could he do but put up a feeble struggle. He hadn't had any strength left to get away. He felt the hands that had been dragging him flip his body over so that he was now face down.

"Like I said; face down in the gutter."

The agent let out a cruel laugh. He motioned for two other agents to come over. One came and sat on Deimos' back, his legs straddling his torso and effectively pinning his arms to his sides. The other knelt down by his head, gripping it tightly. The second agent placed his Deimos' mouth so that his teeth were being forced to bite the edge of the cement curb.

"I can't wait until he finds his cute little partner curb-stomped in his own complex."

There was a hiss of laughs from every agent. Deimos tried to wrench his head from the one agents grip while trying to throw the one on his back off.

The leader of the group stood above him and grinned down at the young technician before finally lifting a booted foot. The young man squeezed his eyes shut, trying to ignore the burning tears that threatened to spill over.

_Fuck my life…_

There was the sound of a skull being completely shattered. Deimos clenched every muscle in his body. Sure that the sound had come from his own skull. But there was another, and another, and another. Each one followed by a pained cry of agony. He refused to open his eyes, afraid that he had descended into hell and was forced to relive is own death.

The weight from his back was suddenly gone just as another sickening _Thwack _reached his ears. Almost immediately after the vice grip on his head vanished. Oh God…what the hell was happening? Was he going to die? He still refused to open his eyes. Couldn't open his eyes. He felt as though he was falling.

"Deimos? C'mon, you've gotta wake up…Deimos!"

Strong arms flipped him over and held him close. The voice at his ear was harsh, but still full of fear and concern.

"You've gotta open your eyes…please, Deimos, please."

The arms held him tighter. Why did he feel so light headed at the sound of that voice?

"San…?"

"Yeah…yeah I'm here. Don't worry. You're gonna be okay, I promise. Please, just hold on. I'm gonna get you to a doctor."

Deimos felt his body getting lifted from the ground. But the last thing that really registered in his mind was Sanford pulling him close and placing a gentle kiss to the top of his head.

TBC


	4. Chapter 4

Ruptured Appendix. Five broken ribs. Fractured clavicle. Heavy internal bleeding. Punctured lung. Deimos was dead on arrival. And much to the confusion of every hospital worker, the body just disappeared.

Who could blame Sanford for it? The last thing he needed was a full blown resurrection in the middle of a busy Emergency Room. But now he had to worry about where to wait for the Higher Powers to act.

He sure as hell wasn't taking his dead partner back to the complex. And he'd be damned if he brought him any where near the facility. In all honesty there was only one place he really could go.

He pushed the speedometer as far as he could without gathering the attention of the local authorities. He wasn't really ready to explain why he had a corpse in the back of his car. His eyes flicked to the motionless body reflected in the rearview mirror.

_God, he looks like he's sleeping._

It was true. If it weren't for the blood and unnatural paleness of his skin, Deimos would have looked like he had merely fallen asleep in the back of Sanford's car. But there was no color in his face. His lips had started to turn blue. Blood, bruises, and gashes covered his body.

When Sanford had seen the agents his first instinct was to neutralize them all. But the moment he saw Deimos pinned on the ground, he felt an unmitigated rage flare up inside and completely decimated the group of l337's.

He gripped the steering wheel tightly until his knuckles began to turn white. Why the fuck had he sent Deimos out alone? Why had there been agents in the complex? Why did he snap at the one person he had left that actually cared about him? Maybe an old friend had the answers. He pulled the car to a stop in front of a lone building that stood in the middle of the slums at the edge of the city. He was careful as he exited the vehicle. Knowing the area he was in, there were bond to be some surprises every few steps.

He was barley up the first step of the beat up porch when the front door flew open. There, in all his homicidal glory, stood the one and only Hank J. Wimbleton. While it had only been a few hours since he had last seen the older man, Sanford couldn't help but be taken aback by the sight of his closest friend. And god did Hank make it hard not to stare. Deathly pale skin, pitch black eyes hidden behind a pair of bright red sunglasses, and wiry deep grey hair.

Hank leaned lazily against the door frame, regarding the vehicle in his driveway with a knowing look. He nodded towards Sanford.

"I heard about what happened. Bring him in."

Sanford complied and nearly sprinted back to the car. He threw open the back door and took up Deimos' body with great care. Once he carried him back to the house he found Hank At the end of a long hallway.

"Back here. I've got a bed you can put him in."

Sanford nodded and brought Deimos to the room. It was blank, deep grey walls, a single window and a twin sized bed. He placed the body down gently on the white sheets. Hank came moments later with a few extra sheets. Placing one over the technician and one on a couch that sat along the wall beneath the window.

"It's not much, but you can stay here until he's resurrected and the Higher Powers figure out how those agents found the complex."

"Thanks." Sanford dropped down onto the couch. He needed to think. Needed to talk. "Hank…Dammit, this was all my fault. I sent him out. I-"

Hank held up a hand and stopped him mid sentence.

"You didn't know. No one did. And we're all looking into it to make sure it doesn't happen again."

The eldest of the three moved to sit down on the couch as well, stretching out casually.

"But the real question is why did you send him out? He was worried about you earlier. Did something happen?"

Sanford twitched. So that's why Deimos was asking Hank for advice. He was worried about him. He brought a hand to rub at a dull throb that began to grow in his head.

"Fuck…He was worried about me…I should have told him. He has every right to know."

Hank turned to face his ex-partner.

"What happened? What did you not tell him?"

Sanford took a deep breath in.

"The Higher Powers…They've been debating whether or not Deimos and I should stay partners. God dammit…Hank they want to split us up."

There was a cold silence. Neither men moved or made any sound. Sanford looked as though he was completely lost in his own guilt. Hank was in deep contemplation before finally breaking the silence.

"They won't do it."

Sanford straightened up.

"What do you mean?"

"I'll have a talk with the Higher Powers. You should have told someone sooner."

Hank smirked over at his old friend. It was the last thing seen when the room suddenly went dark. A bright flash of pure white light filled the room.

Nothing ever really compared to the sight of a full resurrection. It was only a few seconds long, but still amazed even the most seasoned Anti-A.A.H.W. agent. Of course Hank had something else that must have caught his attention, and exited the room with perfect non-challance.

The light was gone a quickly as it had appeared. The moment the room returned to the florescent light that had filled it before, Sanford was up and at the edge of the bed. His hand flew to each pulse point. Carotid, strong. Radial, strong. He leaned in over Deimos' face, one hand gently parting his lips to feel the breath that now flowed. The other hand trailing down to his hips, gently pressing into the crevice between his thigh and hip socket. The Femoral pulse pounded strong against his fingers.

The lips beneath his curved into a slight smile. The light grey eyes opened slowly.

"Hey…"

"Oh god…" Sanford leaned down and held the technician close.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have snapped. I shouldn't have sent you away."

Deimos returned the embrace. Placing a gentle kiss to his partner's lips.

"It's fine. I'm alive, and you're here. As far as I'm concerned, things are the way they need to be."

The techie pulled his partner down onto the bed next to him, his arms wrapped tight around his torso. Sanford reached over and pulled the sheet over their bodies. For a moment they laid there. Content.

Hank reappeared. His trench coat in hand.

"I just got called to the facility. I'll be gone for a few hours. I'm going to take care of things while I'm there."

With that he was once again gone. Leaving Sanford and Deimos alone. The sound of tires on gravel could be heard outside as Hank pulled out. When the engine could no longer be heard, Sanford felt a pair of hands roaming around.

"I didn't hear a phone ring, did you?"

Sanford smiled.

"No."

Deimos' hands began to roam more boldly.

"We need to thank him."

Sanford reached for the lamp on the night stand clicking off the light.

"Yeah…but we can do that when he gets back."

END


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